Will the Canucks Power Play Be its Achilles Heel?

I did some research on how important the Canucks power-play was to them during last season’s playoffs.

In round one against Chicago, the Canucks scored a total of three power play goals, of which one of them won them game two, 4-3. The other three wins were from even strength goals. The Hawks won games four through six. Chicago’s power play actually out-performed the Canucks as they had five power play goals. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that the Canucks won that series (4-3) due to that power play goal, because without the Canucks power play win in game two, Chicago would have won the series four games to two.

Round two against Nashville also saw Canuck power play goals win games three and six, while the other two games were won by even strength goals. Suffice to say that the power play won them that series also, going four games to two.

Against San Jose, the power play was at its peak scoring nine goals of which three won them games one, two and four. Without that who knows if the Canucks would have got out of that series.

In the final series against Boston we all know that the Canucks power play was non-existent. The Canucks only scored two power play goals and all three games won were from even strength goals. Of those three games won, two were by 1-0 shutouts

Boston on the other hand, after having one of the worst power plays on record, went on to score five of them and three short-handed goals. They won two games from power play goals and two from even strength.

I bring all this up because the Canucks power play, which was number one during the first half of the season, would have ranked somewhere around 20th or lower in the second half. This does not bode well entering into the playoffs and I would be concerned about that.

On paper the team stats favour the Canucks over the Kings. LA’s power play finished 17th, while the Canucks 4th. However, LA’s penalty-kill was 4th which in reality could cancel the Canucks power play. That being said, the Canucks penalty kill which finished 6th could also negate the Kings power play.

Where I feel the Canucks will have to win will be at even strength or five-on-five. Here the Canucks rank 4th while the Kings are 17th. Goals Against per Game are very close with LA ranking second and the Canucks fourth. This is where Jonathan Quick could steal the series, unless the Canucks get a lot of bodies in front of him.

The two teams’ plus/minus looks like this, LA a +12, which ranked them 13th and the Canucks a +26, which placed them 4th.

The final stat, which is Goals at Home and on the Road, if it plays out, favours the Canucks. At Home they ranked 7th and on the Road 6th. The Kings in comparison finished 29th at Home and 25th on the Road.

This will be a very physical series where Darryl Sutter’s team will try to impose their will on the Canucks. It will be imperative that Coach Vigneault places gritty type personnel on each of the lines.

With Max Lapierre being able to slide up and down the lineup, you may see him start on any one of the lines. I don’t see the third line changing and I believe Henrik Sedin and Alex Burrow along with Ryan Kesler and David Booth pairings will stay intact. Who plays with them will be a key to matching LA’s big and tough forwards. With Daniel Sedin apparently ready to return, it would be interesting to see if he could help the Kesler line get going.

Will we see Lapierre on the Sedin line and Byron Bitz on the Kesler line? Will Manny Malhotra be the centre on the fourth line with Byron Bitz, Dale Weise or Zack Kassian, if he is healthy?

I am hearing that Mason Raymond may start, but to me that is a huge mistake. Raymond’s perimeter play will be totally ineffective at this time of the year. If he does start, I give him one game before he’s replaced until injuries dictate otherwise.

All of this and more will be answered very soon as the real season starts tomorrow. Get ready for the ride of your life.

I’m calling this a seven game series with the Canucks winning, but it will be close one.

Ice Bits – In the West, the Detroit-Nashville series will be a dog fight, but I have to stay with my earlier prediction that the Predators will prevail. This will also be a seven game series.

St. Louis has just been too good at home and defensively to be beat by the Sharks. The Blues in six.

The way Phoenix’s hot goaltender Mike Smith has been playing and without Jonathan Toews, the Hawks will bow out in six.

The Eastern Conference has some interesting match-ups. The Rangers goaltending led by Henrik Lundqvist will take the Senators in six, but these will all be one goal games.

Boston is just too much for the Capitals who barely made it into the playoffs. The Bruins goaltending is miles in front of Washington’s – Bruins in five.

Although the Panthers won the season series over the Devils, New Jersey’s trademark is playoff style hockey and besides, Martin Brodeur has still got game. Devils in six.

War will be the key word when the Penguins and Flyers play with the last man standing, if there’s any remaining. Another big IF is Sidney Crosby staying healthy. I said months ago that Pittsburgh would represent the East in the Stanley Cup, and I’m sticking with that. I can see this series going seven games.

To catch all the news, updates and new articles as they occur, you can follow me at http://twitter.com/nucksiceman. For up to-date scoring for the Chicago Wolves see The Wolves tab on the home page.

Note:www.nucksiceman.com is now mobile friendly. From the web address on your iPhone, you can choose Options/Mobile formatted and the site will appear in its entire living colour for you to view. Check it out.

This Week's Flyers

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.